The Air India rebranding grabbed the limelight. But yet another company that rebranded in August was the young start-up Bombay Shaving Company, which started as a D2C brand seven years ago.

It has done a dramatic cut of the word ‘company’ by cleaving it diagonally.

The reasons for the rebranding were laid out in a LinkedIn post by its founder, Shantanu Deshpande, who said that the old razor + wings logo worked great on a mobile screen. It was sophisticated and minimal. “But today, we are in almost 70k stores. The brand had to have shelf throw in a competitive retail shelf. Had to be bigger, bolder, sharper,” he explained.

“Also, we’re challenging the market with a bold launch in razors — the Chakravyuh of Men’s Grooming. Our brand had to live up,” he wrote.

Although the name of the firm was Bombay Shaving Company, people only referred to it as Bombay Shaving. “People didn’t really say Company. But it was an important suffix. It made us complete. Shaving through it was a smart way to make the brand attractive,” says Deshpande.

Self mutilation is also another way of identifying with the young, who often go in for tattoos and piercings. “Our cut of the Company is our identity now. It defines who we are. It makes us, us,” concludes Deshpande.

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